Kyiv, Ukraine – Zynaida Shelepenko is still reeling about what happened in the White House on Friday.
“They cornered Zelenskyy like two bandits, like two mafiosi who want your money and your humiliation,” the 52-year-old bank clerk told Al Jazeera, referring to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s meeting with United States President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance.
Therefore, Shelepenko stated, she was not surprised with Trump’s decision on Monday to suspend military aid to Ukraine after Zelenskyy refused to apologize for the disagreement and stated that his aborted visit to Washington, DC, “didn’t bring anything positive”.
The Ukrainian president and his US counterpart have since struck more conciliatory tones, but to Shelepenko, there is a clear winner in these tensions between Washington and Kyiv, who were once close allies.
“Guess who’s cheering now? The vampire, the killer of children in the Kremlin,” she said, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin. “We witnessed the most shameful moment in American history.”
If the US aid is ceases entirely, it will entail “significant financial and legal issues” for US arms manufacturers such as Lockheed that have been commissioned to produce weaponry for Kyiv, said Mykhailo Zhirokhov, a military analyst based in Chernihiv.
Washington may stop providing intelligence data to Ukraine and stop training Ukrainian pilots and servicemembers to operate F-16 fighter jets and advanced weaponry, Zhirokhov added.
“This would be the worst-case scenario,” Zhirokhov told Al Jazeera.
The best-case scenario would be a diplomatic solution reached before Kyiv exhausts the weapons and ammunition that have been supplied, he said.
The halt significantly impacts Ukraine’s air defense abilities, particularly in cities such as Kyiv and Odesa, where advanced US-made Patriot systems are in operation.
Patriots have proved most effective against Russian missiles – even those Putin called indestructible.
There will be a severe shortage of missiles for the HIMARS multiple rocket launchers and Western-supplied F-16 jets, Zhirokhov said.
Trump’s aim is geopolitical, according to Igar Tyshkevych, an analyst from Kyiv.
Trump sees Ukraine as a hindrance in his confrontation with China over global dominance.
By surfacing tensions with Moscow and easing US sanctions on Russia, Trump wants Putin to side with Washington to drag Moscow as far as possible from China, Tyshkevych said.
Zelenskyy will need a lot more Western aid and support as a result of the situation, Tyshkevych concluded.
“They cornered Zelenskyy like two bandits, like two mafiosi who want your money and your humiliation,” the 52-year-old bank clerk told Al Jazeera, referring to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s meeting with United States President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance.
Therefore, Shelepenko stated, she was not surprised with Trump’s decision on Monday to suspend military aid to Ukraine after Zelenskyy refused to apologize for the disagreement and stated that his aborted visit to Washington, DC, “didn’t bring anything positive”.
The Ukrainian president and his US counterpart have since struck more conciliatory tones, but to Shelepenko, there is a clear winner in these tensions between Washington and Kyiv, who were once close allies.
“Guess who’s cheering now? The vampire, the killer of children in the Kremlin,” she said, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin. “We witnessed the most shameful moment in American history.”
If the US aid is ceases entirely, it will entail “significant financial and legal issues” for US arms manufacturers such as Lockheed that have been commissioned to produce weaponry for Kyiv, said Mykhailo Zhirokhov, a military analyst based in Chernihiv.
Washington may stop providing intelligence data to Ukraine and stop training Ukrainian pilots and servicemembers to operate F-16 fighter jets and advanced weaponry, Zhirokhov added.
“This would be the worst-case scenario,” Zhirokhov told Al Jazeera.
The best-case scenario would be a diplomatic solution reached before Kyiv exhausts the weapons and ammunition that have been supplied, he said.
The halt significantly impacts Ukraine’s air defense abilities, particularly in cities such as Kyiv and Odesa, where advanced US-made Patriot systems are in operation.
Patriots have proved most effective against Russian missiles – even those Putin called indestructible.
There will be a severe shortage of missiles for the HIMARS multiple rocket launchers and Western-supplied F-16 jets, Zhirokhov said.
Trump’s aim is geopolitical, according to Igar Tyshkevych, an analyst from Kyiv.
Trump sees Ukraine as a hindrance in his confrontation with China over global dominance.
By surfacing tensions with Moscow and easing US sanctions on Russia, Trump wants Putin to side with Washington to drag Moscow as far as possible from China, Tyshkevych said.
Zelenskyy will need a lot more Western aid and support as a result of the situation, Tyshkevych concluded.
